No-name Titans far different Eagles opponent than popular Packers

Kirby Lee, USA Today Sports

Tennessee Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger has kept his team in games, but the rookie sixth-round pick has not been very dynamic. Mettenberger has completed 61.9 percent of his passes, with five touchdowns and four interceptions. His passer rating of 86.2 would be 20th in the NFL if he had enough attempts to qualify.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger has kept his team in games, but the rookie sixth-round pick has not been very dynamic. Mettenberger has completed 61.9 percent of his passes, with five touchdowns and four interceptions. His passer rating of 86.2 would be 20th in the NFL if he had enough attempts to qualify. (Kirby Lee, USA Today Sports)

Kevin NoonanSpecial to The Morning Call

Who are these Titans?

PHILADELPHIA - Last week, the Philadelphia Eagles went up against a quarterback that everybody has heard of. This week, they go against a quarterback that almost nobody has heard of.

The Eagles take on the Tennessee Titans today at Lincoln Financial Field, and the Titans are led by quarterback Zach Mettenberger, a rookie who will be making his fourth NFL start. As much as the Eagles claim they won't look past Mettenberger and the 2-8 Titans, they have to feel at least a little more confident than they were last Sunday, when they were torched by Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a 53-20 loss to the Packers.

"He's not Aaron Rodgers, but who is?'' Eagles defensive tackle Bennie Logan said. "Rodgers is probably the best quarterback in the game right now, a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer when he's done playing. But even Aaron Rodgers had to start somewhere, just like this guy. All I know is that he's wearing an NFL uniform, so he must be pretty good. And that's all I need to know.''

Mettenberger, a sixth-round pick from Louisiana State, replaced former first-rounder Jake Locker in the starting lineup a month ago. And even though the Titans have lost all three games in which he's started, the rookie has been impressive at times. That includes last week's 27-24 loss to Pittsburgh, when he shook off a rough start — his first pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown — to throw two TD passes and keep the Titans competitive.

"For a young quarterback to not get rattled like that, I think it says a little bit about what his mental toughness is about,'' Eagles coach Chip Kelly said.

Mettenberger has completed 61.9 percent of his passes, with five touchdowns and four interceptions. His passer rating of 86.2 would be 20th in the NFL if he had enough attempts to qualify, and that would put him ahead of noted quarterbacks such as Cleveland's Brian Hoyer, the New York Giants' Eli Manning, Detroit's Matt Stafford, Cincinnati's Andy Dalton, Carolina's Cam Newton and the Eagles' Nick Foles.

It would also be better than all three QBs who were selected in the first round of the 2014 draft — Jacksonville's Brian Bortles (72.2), Minnesota's Teddy Bridgewater (75.0) and Cleveland's Johnny Manziel (39.6), who has thrown just one pass all season (it was incomplete).

Still, Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis admitted he knew nothing about Mettenberger until the beginning of the week when he put on game tapes of the rookie's three starts.

"He's a tall, pocket passer that's got a strong arm that can get it deep and outside,'' Davis said. "He doesn't get rattled easily. [The Steelers] blitzed him a lot and he doesn't really rattle. He threw an interception early and came back in there and made a nice play. So, he's an impressive rookie.''

The rookie's weapons on offense are also mostly unknown to casual NFL fans. Their leading rusher, rookie Bishop Sankey, has run for 395 yards and averaged 3.9 yards per carry. That makes Sankey, a second-round pick from Washington, the 28th-leading rusher in the NFL.

So, the Titans have the NFL's 20th-ranked passer, 28th-leading rusher and 41st-leading receiver. That's why they're ranked 31st — second to last — in the NFL in total offense and it's also a big reason why the Titans have won just two games so far.

On defense, the Titans blitz a lot and they'll probably put as much pressure on Eagles' quarterback Mark Sanchez as possible. That's why the Eagles will probably put extra emphasis on getting their running game going, especially since the Titans are ranked 31st in the NFL against the run. Last week, the Steelers' Le'Veon Bell rushed for 204 yards on 33 carries against Tennessee, and that's good news for Eagles running back LeSean McCoy, who has struggled at times this season finding running room and is averaging a career-low 3.7 yards per carry.

"The Titans are aggressive, a good front, a good group," McCoy said. "But they can be blocked [and] blocked up very well, which I watched in the Pittsburgh game. They're giving the backs some lanes, creases to hit."

So, the Titans are as nondescript on defense as they are on offense. They don't have a marquee player on defense and their pass rush is a team affair. Their three leading sackers have dropped enemy QBs a total of 10 times, which is a half-sack less than the Eagles' Connor Barwin has all by himself — tackle Jurrell Casey has four sacks and safety Michael Griffin and linebacker Avery Williamson have three apiece.